German authorities have received information about the suspect in the attack on a Christmas market that killed 5 people

German authorities said they received information last year about the suspect in an attack Car attack at Christmas market in Magdeburg as more details emerged on Sunday about the five people killed.

The authorities have I identified the suspect As a Saudi doctor, he arrived in Germany in 2006 and obtained permanent residency. Police did not name the suspect publicly, in line with privacy rules, but some German media identified him as Student A, and reported that he specialized in psychiatry and psychotherapy.

Authorities say he does not fit the usual profile of extremist attackers. He described himself as a former Muslim who is strongly critical of Islam, and in several social media posts expressed his support for the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

He is being held while authorities investigate him.

The head of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Holger Münch, said in an interview with German radio ZDF on Saturday that his office received a report from Saudi Arabia in November 2023, which prompted the authorities to launch “appropriate investigative measures.”

German newspaper FAZ She said she interviewed the suspect in 2019 and described him as an anti-Islam activist.

“The man also made a large number of posts on the Internet. He was also in contact with various authorities, making insults and even threats. However, he was not known to have committed acts of violence,” said Münch, whose office is in Germany. Equivalent to the FBI.

The warnings, however, proved to be entirely non-specific, he said.

The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees also said on Saturday that it had received information about the suspect in the late summer of last year.

“This has been taken very seriously, as have all the other numerous tips,” the office said. But it also indicated that it was not an investigating authority and that it had referred the information to the responsible authorities. No other details were given.

The Central Council of Ex-Muslims said in a statement that the suspect had “terrorized” them for years, and expressed shock at the attack.

“He appeared to share beliefs on the far-right spectrum of the AfD, and believed in a wide-ranging conspiracy aimed at Islamizing Germany. His delusional ideas went so far that he assumed that even organizations critical of Islamism were part of the Islamist conspiracy.” The statement said.

The group’s head, Mina Ahdi, said in the same statement: “At first we suspected that he might be a spy in the Islamic Movement, but now I believe that he is mentally ill and adheres to extreme right-wing conspiracy ideologies.”

Police in Magdeburg, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt, said on Sunday that the dead were four women aged 45, 52, 67 and 75, in addition to a 9-year-old boy.

Authorities said 200 people were injured, including 41 in serious condition. They were being treated in multiple hospitals in Magdeburg, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) west of Berlin, and beyond.

The suspect appeared before a judge on Saturday evening, who behind closed doors ordered him to be kept in custody on charges of murder and attempted murder. He faces possible indictment.

The horror of another act of mass violence in Germany makes it likely that immigration will remain a major issue as the country heads towards snap elections on February 23. A fatal knife attack in Solingen in August brought the issue to the forefront. agenda, and led Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government to tighten security measures on the border.

Right-wing figures from across Europe have criticized German authorities for allowing high levels of immigration in the past and for what they see as security failures now.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor OrbanHe, known for his strong anti-immigration stance for years, used the attack in Germany to attack the European Union’s immigration policies, calling it an “act of terrorism.”

At an annual press conference in Budapest on Saturday, Orban insisted that “there is no doubt that there is a link between the changing world in Western Europe, and the migration that flows there, especially illegal migration and terrorist acts.”

Orban vowed to “fight” against EU migration policies and claimed without evidence that “Brussels wants Magdeburg to happen to Hungary too.”